Congressional Republicans made a sneaky rule change in order to circumvent the rules of Congress and ensure that the Government stays shut down by no longer allowing a member of Congress to call for a vote, unless that member of Congress is the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
House rules typically allow any member, Republican or Democrat, to call up a Senate-passed bill for a vote. But on Sept. 30 — the eve of the government shutdown — Republicans on the House Rules Committee changed the rule so only House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) could call up a Senate-passed clean funding bill — a bill that has the votes to pass the House and would end the shutdown, if it were given a vote. The move to prevent lawmakers from bringing up the bill came as part of Republican leaders’ strategy to try to extract concessions from Democrats in exchange for reopening the government.
Jennifer Bendery